Hialeah doesn’t usually set the gold political standard in Dade County, but this time it’s setting an example the rest of the county should follow. Quoth the Herald:

Hialeah has put the brakes on the city’s red-light camera program, which issues civil citations to red-light runners caught on camera.

Ending the program was a key priority for acting Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez, who succeeded former mayor Julio Robaina in May. Last year, Hernandez opposed the program, which he called a “taxation to the citizens.”

On Tuesday, the City Council took a final vote, 6-1, to end the program.

I’ve never gotten busted by a red light camera, but I know plenty of people who have and, vicariously, I know getting a $170 ticket in the mail for rounding the corner of a deserted intersection at 3 a.m. feels a lot like getting kicked in the cojones for rounding the corner of a deserted intersection at 3 a.m.

Also, as much as I begrudge the cop who tickets me for a traffic violation, I despise the mounted telephoto lens that does so with the cold glee that only the inanimate among us can muster.

So hats off and gas pedal down to Hialeah for ending its lucrative red-light camera program, which reportedly brought in between $100,000 and $125,000 to the city’s coffers since it started last year. May the rest of Miami speed down the same road.